The Teens

Malcolm and Zoe are now both back in school for the fall.

Zoe, now 17 years old, is a senior at Hickman High School.

Malcolm is now 19 years old and in his second year at Mizzou taking general business courses.

They are BOTH working at Which Wich now.

Malcolm, some girl they work with, and Zoe.

All Dressed Up !!

Randy, Zoe and Malcolm at a wedding.

Father's Day Weekend

Saturday 6 am……….10 mile run with the Uprise group…..felt good especially considering the heat. No Garmin but I’m pretty sure it was around an 8:50 pace or even a bit better. Malcolm watched Beanie for me because James had left to go do a boat race with Slebos.

From 10-12a Malcolm, Allia and I went to the beach at Stephen’s Lake Park. We had a great time. BUT, now my car is FULL of sand!!!

Nap time was great. What will I do when she is too old to nap and I still want to?

Daddy arrived home Saturday evening and informed us that they had won the boat race by a huge margin.

Sunday morning we gave Daddy his present (new swim trunks) and a store bought card. (Beanie did NOT want to make one.) She did sign her name on the inside and write DADDY on the envelope. Daddy was very happy.

Next I went for a big 40 mile bike ride and explored some new roads out by the river (Wilton). The hills were killer but it was so much fun!

Next was nap time…..OMG I love nap time.

After naps I did some chores and we all settled in for a quiet evening at home. Daddy’s arms were so sore from his race that he could barely move. He hasn’t been training for boat racing lately.

Daddy also put up a new swing for Bean out in the yard.      Very nice weekend!

Mother's Day 2012

This morning I got up and did my normal Sunday morning trail run. I usually run a 5.5 mile loop and most everyone else does an 8 mile loop across the street but today, I decided to follow the big kids into the woods so I could learn my way around the longer trail. That was fun and even though my legs were tired from running 13 miles yesterday, I was pleasantly surprised at how well I ran about 5 miles on single track.

Next I headed to the grocery store to buy something special for my mother’s day lunch. I picked up a few steaks, some veggies to cut up and humus for dipping, a big container of some dynamite looking fresh strawberries, and some asparagus to grill. All favorites of mine since it’s my celebration lunch.

On the way home from the grocery store I decided to stop by Target real fast and see if they had some swim suits I was interested in. Once I got in the store, the swim suits were on two different racks and really picked over so I tried on this and that and then looked for more stuff and before I knew it, I had burned a whole hour and still could not make up my mind what to do. I finally bought a bunch of things and decided to return some later when I could think better.

Now I am behind schedule so I race home to shower and prepare lunch. The plan was to start the party at 11:30 since Malcolm had to be at work by 3. When I got home, the big kids pulled in the driveway right behind me and everyone was hungry so I skipped my shower and quickly got the veggie tray out and we devoured it in no time.

Alli picked me some flowers.

Next we opened gifts and cards. Daddy had been nice enough to take Beanie to the store to pick out a card. It was a pretty purple card with lots of sparkles. He confirmed my suspicions that she had indeed picked it out all by herself based on color. (smile) Malcolm and Bean made me a couple of cards that were super sweet because they were hand made with love.

Then Zoe really surprised me with an amazing “reproduction” of a piece of art I have wanted for years. I was thrilled. Highlight of the day. Yes she painted it all by herself.

Next James grilled my steaks along with some pineapple…..mmmm so good. The big kids all gobbled up the food and then all too quickly needed to leave. I was a bit disappointed that they did not hang out longer. They are always at work, school, or with friend so I don’t see much of them at all these days.

The rest of the day was nap time and house work and nothing out of the ordinary. When later asked by a friend, I rated my day a B. I gave it an A for Zoe’s art work and C for not a long enough time with the kids which averaged out to a B.

But the real question is………why didn’t anyone buy me some chocolate?

Malcolm Nose Broken

About a week ago, Malcolm was goofing around play boxing with his buddies and one of his friends broke his nose!! 

Today, he had a plastic surgeon fix it so it will not be crooked the rest of his life.

Crisis Averted

This morning my boss was doling out a high school graduate gift of $100 (from the company) to one of my co-workers whose daughter was graduating from high school when he thought to ask me when my son would be graduating. I told him he was just finishing up his first year of college!! Boss says cut the boy a check and sorry we missed him last year. So I did.


I quickly texted Malcolm telling him to stop by the office but I didn’t tell him why. I knew this check would make his day so I was excited to give it to him. He showed quickly and was thrilled as you can imagine.

While he was here thanking my boss, we chatted a bit and he told me he had his last final today and he was really amped up for it. He had been studying and was confident he would ace the test and quite possibly the whole course. I was proud to see him taking his academics so seriously and getting excited about good grades.

Then a few hours later, the phone rings and the boy sputters “mom” into the phone thru tears; just like when he wrecked the car. My heart dropped. He went on to tell me that he had showed up for his test and no one was there….. that he had the day wrong ....the test was YESTERDAY!

OMG the poor boy, he was so upset. He had been so UP for this test. I told him to quickly contact the professor or TA and see if there was a makeup test. He told me he would have to go home to find their number and would do that right away.

Once home he emailed the TA and called me to tell me he did not have a phone number for either the TA or prof!! (Welcome to the internet age.) He had calmed down and assured me he would still pass the class even without the final because he had a high B going into it, which made us both feel better.

A long hour later the TA finally emailed him back and informed him the makeup test was at 3 p.m. and he could take it then. He was thrilled and rushed back up to campus and aced his test like he wanted to.

I am very proud of him for getting that all worked out so he could still take his test.